Dec. 2011
          A long time ago my sister, Theresa moved to Georgia and for some unknown reason sent me a copy of the Appalachian Trail. I thought it was interesting and filed it away, not thinking about it for a number of years. Later, about 25 years later, I started thinking about hiking. I love the outdoors, the smell of pine, the quiet and peace, hearing only the twittering of the birds. I bought a copy of Backpacker magazine and without me realizing it, there was an article about the Appalachian Trail. That's when I decided "I'm hiking the AT" My niece, Cristy said it was a sign and that I must do it or regret it forever.
          I began researching the AT. The idea was conceived by a young man named Benton MacKaye to link the ridgetops of the Appalachian Mountains to the South. It took many years and many hands but the Trail was completed in 1937. It runs from Katahdin Mountain in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia, and is 2,175 miles in length. The Trail is not complete, nor will it be complete because the Trail Associations all along the trail continue to improve it.


          Remote for detachment,
          narrow for chosen company,
          winding for leisure,
          lonely for contemplation,
          the Trail leads not merely north and south
          but upward to the body, mind and soul of man.
                  by Harold Allen


     The more I talked the about it the more people, friends and relatives became more supportive. A number of them have actually said they would hike part of the trail with me. One day during Christmas time 2009 I was talking about it with my brother-in-law Lloyd (Bub). He said he was going to retire in 2011 and he would hike the trail with me. We could start at the end of February and that would give us enough time to make it to Maine before the park closes in October. The preparations began. We day hiked the Blue Ridge Mountains in the summer of 2010 and I began collecting the equipment I would need to hike the AT.
      Well, my beloved brother-in-law passed away in October 2010 and I just didn't have the heart to begin the hike that next February. I have a stone that I carry from Bub's funeral, it's a river rock that the minister suggested we hold on to until we are through grieving. I intend to carry him with me on this hike and when I reach Katahdin I'll place it on the cairn I'll find there. So, I've spent the first year of my retirement just thinking about it and getting ready.
     We are presently in Georgia with my sister and her family. The RV is parked out front waiting for parts and then we need to head home for the Holidays and Doctor's appointments. Theresa brought home a book from the library and in it is an article about the Smoky Mountains and the 70 miles of AT that runs through it. The author of the article writes,"I didn't do it to learn who I was or what I was. Instead, I hoped to understand what it was to live simply and to complete a large challenge." That's me!
     My niece, Amy took me to Springer Mountain trail head so I actually got to hike the trail a little bit. There was a metal sign imbedded in a rock announcing your position and a sign in book for the hikers. We looked everywhere for the book and Amy found it. It's a metal box with a weighted lid slid in between the rocks below the trail head. I signed the book with my trail name "Tripper" promising I'd be back next March to start the hike.
"You start a new life on the trail, leaving your background behind." Heather Sable, author of the article.
     Theresa also brought home another book called "Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity" by Hugh MacLeod.  gapingvoid.com   I know that I will be keeping a journal on my trip just in case I realized some wonderful realities or had some profound thoughts that needed to be recorded, but after reading his book I have decided to write my own book, so here goes...